A few decades back (yes, I’ve been in this business a while) the sales execs at SAP (where I worked) talked about their “golf course lead” – which usually arrived on Monday morning. Way before the days of social media and internet marketing, one of the top tactics for filling sales funnel was the cold...

I’m often asked to give talks on digital marketing. At the beginning of each session I ask the audience to raise hands if they are delighted with their digital marketing programs. A hand or two may be seen, but not always – there are times when all hands stay down. So, I then ask for...

“All the great inspiring leaders and organizations in the world … all think, act and communicate in the exact same way, and it’s the complete opposite to everyone else.” So, starts a remarkable and thought-provoking TED talk given by Simon Sinek. As Sinek points out, most organizations can describe WHAT they do – the familiar...

Have you ever wondered what demand-gen channels your peers find most successful? Will they be spending more or less on leads next year, and for what channels? Research firm Software Advice launched a survey to answer these questions and more. If you are a B2B marketer, you’re invited to participate. After the report comes out next month, we will...

Ask most B2B sales and marketing professionals and business owners and they’ll tell you that B2B lead generation is much harder today than it was 5 or 10 years ago. Why? It’s not because prospects have stopped buying. It’s because the way that they buy has changed. And many B2B sales and marketing professionals who...

Undergoing a website redesign is an incredible adventure for any organization; if done right, however, the rewards are well worth the investment. At Espresso B2B, we believe that businesses should employ a design strategy that combines marketing efforts with top-notch design. When inbound marketing elements (search engine optimization, engaging content, call-to-action buttons, landing pages, etc.)...

When you think of bad habits, what springs to mind? Smoking? Nail-biting? Overeating? These are just a few of the nasty habits that millions of individuals attempt to break every year, often spending a lot of money in the process. Businesses also suffer from their own vices which (left unchecked) can stifle the organization’s lead...

When I started my career in sales, the most common sales model was the lone direct sales person and their territory. Many long days were spent cold calling into the territory, trying to penetrate accounts. Later, it became more common to use inside sales teams (or outsourced telesales) to do the bulk of cold calling....

(A number of people have asked us to re-print this article by Espresso B2B Marketing. It was originally published by PSVillage. Here it is!) Hey! What happened to my market? A VP of Sales at an IT services organization recently told me, “Sometime in 2008 cold calling just stopped working for us. At first, we...

People often tell me they’re disappointed with a marketing program they’ve run – a telemarketing campaign, an email blast, or a booth at a trade show, for example. They’ve launched a single activity and hoped for an inflow of fresh, new leads. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. To run a telemarketing program this month,...